A Southern Wedding Worth the Wait: Shelby & Jeremiah

If you’ve run out of romantic movies to watch on Netflix, but fancy hearing an uplifting tale, then Shelby and Jeremiah’s real wedding is one to put the kettle on, stick your feel up, and read. The couple met through a friend and knew instantly that this wasn’t just any chance encounter. Though distance and bad timing tried to intervene, the loved-up couple eventually tied the knot on the Magnolia Plantation in South Carolina.

Arron & Jillian Photography were there to capture their dreamy Southern wedding and we can’t wait for you to see it!

Shelby and her bride tribe enjoyed morning cocktails in pastel-coloured robes. The perfect start to a wedding day!

Jeremiah begins with a phrase that sums up his and Shelby's love story, “Love is patient. Seven years ago on March 20, 2010 I met and fell in love with my soon to be wife. They say that love at first sight is only a thing for movies but if that's the case then we should sell our story to Hollywood.”

Their very first date wasn't necessarily meant to be one at all. They met through a mutual friend who had asked Jeremiah to collect Shelby from the airport, “I've never met someone who I connected with on so many levels and felt like I had known her for years. Not only was she beautiful, but she kept my attention on a deeper level."

As for Shelby's first impressions? Well let's just say they were good! “We finished the evening at dinner where I remember talking for quite a few hours with each of us taking turns finishing each other's sentences and interrupting one another with an excited "me too!" I definitely felt an instant connection with him and thought it was quite unique to have so much in common (faith, values, personality, interests, goals, love for traveling, both wanting to honeymoon in Fiji... to name a few) with someone on the other side of the country."

After Jeremiah dropped her off on the night they met, Shelby called her friends to tell them she thought she'd met the guy she was meant to marry. Within a few weeks, the couple were taking turns to fly between Kansas City and Charlotte and decided to make things official.

But sadly, circumstances got in the way of their romance. “Timing and distance made it difficult to continue and we decided to go our separate ways. This was one of the hardest decisions that we had to make and one that we both can look back and appreciate because we learned so much about ourselves individually through it,” Jeremiah tells us.

But thankfully the separation didn't last forever. The couple kept in touch over the years, and eventually met up to have "The Talk", “One thing never changed through everything and that was our love for each other. Deep down I knew that she was the one for me and no matter what was going on, believed that God's plan for our lives would be better than anything we could ever design ourselves. The last few months have come with a whole new meaning of love. I have watched our love and relationship continue to grow stronger. When we began talking about marriage it was almost as if we both were expecting this."

And ultra cute gift package put together for Jeremiah by Shelby. Every piece has a special meaning and message.

The first date was such a winner, we can't wait to hear about the proposal! At that point, the couple were still living apart. They decided to meet up in Charlotte and spend a few days together. Little did Shelby know, Jeremiah would surprise her with a stay in Duke Mansion. And while giving her the tour of the gardens, she could hear music, first it was “Marry Me” by Train followed by “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran.

"I was lost for words as I could feel the emotion suddenly build up. Jeremiah led me to a few different stops where each time a rose was waiting for me. At one point, we stopped at a bench where he gave me a present to open. He knows how much I appreciate a little comic relief - the gift was a pair of running shoes with a note that said, “If you’re going to run, here’s your chance...” but of course I didn’t take him up on the offer." Shelby recalls.

“We strolled through the garden and around to the courtyard which was lined with candles, J&S sign, and a home-made lighted check-off sign (he knows how much I appreciate a good arts and crafts project). He then proposed to me under the arch. Jeremiah thought ahead and made sure Kyla, a local photographer and friend, was there to capture each moment and raw emotion.”

And booking the photographer wasn't the only preparations Jeremiah had made, "He had his twin brother and one of his best friends behind the scenes playing DJ, lighting (and relighting) the candles before we came around the corner, strategically setting up the Go-Pros to capture the proposal, guarding the ring, and making sure the details were in order for the proposal to go as smoothly as possible. Jeremiah even had them come out the weekend before to go over the plans with them. He nailed it."

And the surprises didn't end there. The couple went for a sunset rooftop dinner, before being whisked away to the next location by some very special Uber drivers, “The best-of-the-best “Uber” drivers (who drove all the way in from Myrtle Beach) …aka Mom and Dad Stevens, to be our surprise “pretend” Uber drivers. They drove us to the surprise engagement party Jeremiah had planned with some amazing family and friends where we shared stories, memories, and also enjoyed quite the impressive slideshow from Jonathan, his twin.”

Seriously Jeremiah pulled out every last stop!

Seeing as the proposal would be hard to top, what had they in mind for the wedding itself?

“Rustic Vintage meets Southern Charm. We always dreamed of having an outdoor wedding and wanted to keep the feel relaxed and comfortable for our guests. Being a destination wedding, we wanted it to be a smaller, more intimate setting where guests could feel at home as well as have a memorable weekend getaway in Charleston.” Shelby says, explaining their initial thoughts when it came to wedding planning.

Oh we do love it when a pup gets to make a cameo in the wedding pictures! This cutie's name is Miya!

So how did they choose where to get married? His hometown? Hers? In the end, they decided to find somewhere that's just theirs, “Being from North Carolina and Omaha, Nebraska, we wanted to find a city that could be ours. We had visited Charleston together before and always thought the city had so much history, class, and charm along with being a city that had a significant part in our love story.” I love the idea of returning to the place where you got engaged for your wedding!

The couple say they made sure their marriage came before any of their wedding plans, “If projects or wedding ideas became too stressful or time-consuming, we eliminated them. We wanted the wedding to reflect our unique interests and represent us as a couple. We wanted to keep it fun, family and friends-centred, upbeat, unique, and have special touches that tied in our faith.”

Shelby had a special 'something borrowed' for her big day, "My cousin (an honorary bridesmaid/bride’s babe) let me wear a special heirloom ring of hers that had been a tradition to wear down the aisle in her family (her grandmother, mother, herself and eventually her two daughters will wear). We exchanged heirloom rings for the day, and I walked down the aisle with my “something borrowed” which will always be a special memory for me.”

And of course, her "something blue" were her bridesmaids!

The ceremony area was ideal for the feeling they had in mind; romantic, natural and enjoyable for family and friends of all ages.

This ceremony arch is so stunning!

Shelby got to walk up a pretty spectacular aisle, “After seeing the iconic long, white bridge, I knew it would be the perfect setting to walk over during the ceremony for the bride’s entrance. Besides being a gorgeous setting, it symbolised much more to me (overcoming fears, leaving the past behind and starting a new chapter, etc)."

Too frickin' cute!

Shelby chose both her mom and her brothers to walk her up the aisle, "My mom walked me across the bridge which made this moment even more special for me as she has been one of the primary influences in my life who has helped shape me into the person I am. It also fit in perfectly with my bridal entrance song, ‘Oceans’ by Hillsong United. My brothers then walked me down the aisle.”

Magnolia Plantation was a pretty stunning backdrop for their day, “We actually selected the venue before actually visiting it as we just had a “feeling” this was it and didn’t need to look further. The Southern charm, beautiful gardens, picturesque setting with ancient oaks and Spanish moss, being surrounded by God’s beautiful creations, all were some of the many reasons we chose the Magnolia Plantation for our venue.”

The couple combined sand to symbolise that, like them, can now never be fully separated.

The couple say their friends and family really made the day for them, “Being a destination wedding for both of us, it meant more than words can say to have our closest friends and family fly out and travel from afar to be a part of our special day. Knowing we were surrounded by the people that meant the most to us made the day even more special and memorable.”

The couple's day was filled with highlights, “We had ‘Sundaes on Sunday’ station where we had a variety of toppings along with Bananas Foster and Cherries Jubilee. We had our fur baby Miya as the flower pup, unique twist on a keepsake Sand Ceremony, along with a Rose Ceremony to honour our mothers/grandmothers.”

The slightly differing tones of pale blue complimented each other so well, “We incorporated our favourite colours and designed the entire look and feel from scratch ourselves. All of the décor, signage, and custom touches were created by us and brought all the way from Omaha, Nebraska.”

The couple created a ‘Hydration Station’ to greet their guests, "With Southern Sweet Tea, Midwestern Tea, Basil Lime Lemonade, and Fruit-Infused Water. For cocktail hour, we had a vintage lounge area setup with a vintage chandelier hanging from an old oak tree above a lounge area. We had a fun trail mix bar as our favours with custom-made favour bags and signage.

Such a gorgeous lounge set-up!

Thoughtful gestures for their guests were littered throughout the day, “We wanted to make it a fun experience for our guests who were traveling from various states to celebrate our special day. We made welcome baskets for them when they arrived at their hotel."

The couple wanted to tie in their faith in unique ways throughout their ceremony and reception, "One example was our seating chart table. We had our guest names in calligraphy with vintage keys on the front with a scripture verse on the back to indicate where they would be sitting for dinner.”

The simplicity of the eucalyptus works so well as part of the tablescapes.

The couple created a special place setting for their match-maker Linsey. Without her, we wouldn't have this incredibly cute story - and as you know, we're suckers for a good love story.

So how long did it take to pull this gorgeous wedding together? “Since we had known each other for over six years, we had a short engagement period, which meant only four or five months to create everything by the time we started planning. We created, planned, and executed all the weekend events and details (with the help of a day-of wedding coordinator). From the minute our guests arrived to the minute they left, everything was thoughtfully designed and created specifically by us, for our wedding day.”

This couple's advice for planning a wedding? Bring in the professionals, “If possible, hire a legit wedding planner that is passionate about weddings, creative, and has knack for details. You will thank yourselves later. (We wish we would have done this instead of being our own wedding planner 1,000 miles away… lesson learned.) There will always be something that goes wrong on your wedding day, but this is part of the fun and will many times be the memory you can look back on and laugh about later.”

The couple say that all their hard work was entirely worth it, "We had plenty of things that didn’t go as planned, but we embraced it and laughed at the situation because that’s all you can do, and now it adds even more laughter and fun to our story."

As for the honeymoon? “We went to Hermitage Bay and Sandals Resort in Antigua. We wanted to try out two different experiences so we stayed the first 4 nights at Sandals and the next 4 nights at Hermitage Bay. Sandals was nice as they upgraded us to their top-level butler suite with private pool and hot tub, but let me tell you, Hermitage Bay blew us away, and our expectations were greatly exceeded.”

And if you still weren't sold on Antigua, Shelby's description of their resort sounds divine, “Waking up to one of the most amazing views ever from our Hilltop Suite to watching the sunset with our own mini private pool and lounge area was one of our favourite parts. Hermitage Bay was a smaller resort, so their focus on customer service and creating a relaxed and luxury vacation was their top priority. The scenery, service, food, people, amenities, activities and overall feel of the honeymoon were outstanding. We definitely will be coming back!”

Far be it for the One Fab Day gang to crash a couple's vacation, but this one sounds pretty darn good to us... Can we come next time too?!

We're always first in the photobooth!

There is just nothing like a sparkler send-off, is there? The perfect end-of-night photo op!

Huge thanks to Arron & Jillian Photography for sending this one to us. We loved hearing this sweet story and wish Shelby and Jeremiah (and adorable pooch Miya!) a lifetime of happiness.